Alley Kat

Before I start the chapter, I wanted to make sure you all know about the new cover made by twilightgurl2! I love it! I'd also like to thank xglamgurrl16x. She also made me a cover and it too is fabulous! I'll be posting and using the covers they made me as the chapters go on! Thank you again! :)

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Derek opened his mouth to reply, but I didn't give him a chance to lie to me. I went straight for the money shot.

I punched him right in the jaw.

Derek's head moved to the side slightly when my fist came in contact, but he quickly turned it back to face me as if nothing had happened. I was in shock. Before I went incognito, I was recognized as a pretty good threat in a street fight. In fact, I knocked out quite a few scarey looking men...and I gave Derek one of my hardests hits to date...and he remained unscathed. His eyes searched mine. The emotion they held was not anger like I expected. They seemed to hold regret- and they were green.

I sat up in the bed, feeling my pulse quicken, thumping loudly as the anger flooded my body. I pulled back my fist for another shot, but he caught my hand with ease, uncurling my fingers and gently resting them on the silk sheets that were sprawled across the mattress. Once again, shock went through me. I hated his fast reflexes. I couldn't even get a good punch in because of his 'ninja' like skill. Derek was lucky; if I could speak at that moment, I'd share a number of choice words with him.

"Kat, listen to me. If you don't like what I have to say, then you can beat me into a pulp, but not yet. Just listen first, alright?" he pleaded.

Without thinking, I nodded my head in agreement. I'd at least get to punch him some more when he finished. That would make me feeling so much better. Then I'd have a turkey sandwich and Dorito chips. Hey, I may have been upset, but I was also hungry. Now that I would have a chance to eat normal food again, I'd take complete advantage of every Subway in town.

It didn't matter that Derek and I were in the middle of an undeniably serious conversation. I was starving and day dreaming about those Red Lobster commercials where the butter slashes and the kind waiter presents a bundle of steaming hot, mouth watering biscuits-

The sound of Derek's voice took me away from my type-two diabetic thoughts.

"Look, Simon wanted to keep an eye on you after the...um...incident, but you ran off on your own. He's been searching for you ever since, Kat. You're the only person he's ever truely cared about, and you left. Well, being the protective big brother he is, Simon never gave up on finding you. He's got guys all over southern Cali, Arizona, and Nevada looking for you.

"The rest of your family still thinks you're dead though. A couple of weeks ago, he got a call from one of his guys...about a strange girl running around Pasedina at night. I guess the guy saw you a number of times and got suspicious. Simon sent me to look for you and I thought it was going to take forever, but you ended up coming straight to me...well, straight to my wallet. The rest you know about."

Derek looked into my eyes with sincerity, almost drowning me in his gaze. I could see them changing color, slowly morphing into a pale blue-green mixture.

"He just wants you safe, K," Derek added. He called me 'K'? How did I respond to all of that?

I punched him again.

"You should of told me sooner, Derek! You shouldn't have lied! I almost thought of you as a friend. Now, I find out your being paid to babysit me?! You should've just let me know from the beginning. You should've. You should've...but you didn't."

Somewhere towards the end of that rant, I stopped yelling and started feeling just plain pitiful. Derek didn't technically lie, but also hadn't told me the truth.

"I'm stupid aren't I...to actually think I could have a friend? I thought maybe someone would be able to help me and really care. I'm stupid. You don't even want to be my friend. You're getting paid to make sure Simon has contact with me. I'm just stupid," I spoke again.

I didn't want to see him anymore. I dropped my focus to the floor, trying to blink back tears. I was so frustrated. I was crying in front of him again. Why after a year and a half without a tear was I suddenly crying all the time? It was pathetic. It was all Derek's fault. He knew how to make me relive my past and feel crappy about the present all at the same time. I would of hated him if he hadn't been so sweet the next moment. Derek reached out his hands, holding onto one of my own with his left and cupping my chin in the other. He turned my head to look to him once more.